Sexual abuse / The vice department has set the goal, to bring each sexual abuser behind bars. But not all accusations turn out to be real abuse.

"We carefully pursue every single accusation, so absolutely no case will get left out", stresses Leo Lehrbaum, chief of the group "vice" of the state criminal police in lower Austria.

Every day he is confronted with varying tragical forms of sexual abuse and knows, how much the victims suffer from the consequences, even decades later. Many only dare to file complaints to the executive branch years after it happened. "We try, of course, to clear up everything, but many cases already prescribed, so that the perpetrator can no more be charged in court" Lehrbaum knows.

This is why he advises: "Always file a complaint immediately. The less time has passed, the better the chances to catch the perpetrator, due to traces of DNA.". Women and children should not be afraid, because everyone has the right to be interviewed by a female police officer.

Nevertheless, independent of all real abuse cases, he has noted a disconcerting development, during his investigations."On average, four out of five complaints to police turn out to be pure invention".

Psychological problems or fear of pregnancy

The youngest one that faked such a crime, was only 12 years old. During puberty and adolescence such fabrications are especially frequent. Motives vary. Lehrbaum: "In some cases there are profound psychological problems, that need to be analyzed by an expert". Often it is simply a "cry" to call attention, because there are problems in school, with parents or at work. Here he appeals to the parents, to take more time to talk with their children and not to abandon them, saying "I have no time right now, let’s talk tomorrow".

He is even more concerned about cases where young women pretend to have been raped, to get even with an acquaintance, because they were rejected or because a relationship did not proceed the way she wished it would.

"Often such accusations are a white lies, because after a party or disco visit – and usually under heavy influence of alcohol – unplanned and unprotected intercourse has occurred, and now they are concerned about a possible pregnancy or other personal consequences", said the detective officer.

He is particular saddened when in divorce or custody disputes, the fake abuse accusation is used as a means to an end. "In the course of the inquiry, if we speak in detail about the incident, it turns out very soon that the accuser gets entangled in contradictory statements, and they admit that the whole has yet taken place or not in this form . They often come to their senses and realize that the entire story was very improper, "says Lehrbaum.

The accusers frequently are unaware, that their "fantasy" is a serious crime. "A complaint against an unknown perpetrator is a simulation of a crime, punishable with up to 6 months in jail, and a complaint against a particular person is libel, punishable with up to 5 years in jail", admonishes Lehrbaum to be more responsible with both accusations and sexuality.